


Addendum

by Ribbit_Rabbit



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24575338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ribbit_Rabbit/pseuds/Ribbit_Rabbit
Summary: This is me exploring and extrapolating on the events taking place in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. By shifting perspectives between the main characters, these short "addendums" are meant to complement the story canon.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After finishing She-Ra, I was interested in taking a stab at expanding the characters and their universe, since the medium is limited in how much content it can provide. So I've decided to re-watch the series and scribble these short notes as I go along. While this is clearly a self-serving effort, it may also be of interest to the community. Of course, let me know if I make a blatant mistake in some detail from show! As the story progresses, more tags may become relevant and additional perspectives added, but I suspect this will primarily focus on the "Best Friend Squad" and, of course, Catra. This first installment goes up to the events in Episode 4: Flowers for She-Ra. 
> 
> Side note 1: I'm a sucker for alliteration and allusions so this will probably be chock-full of them.  
> Side note 2: IIRC, there aren't official ages for the characters, and so I'm kind of playing by ear based on what the creators have mentioned in interviews.

**Report 1: Missing Persons**

"I’ll be back before they know I’m gone. Just cover for me, okay?"

Adora disappeared into the dim corridor, the echoes of her light footsteps on the metal floor only caught by Catra’s sensitive hearing. The girl who remained let out an unsatisfied sigh and snuck back to the dormitory. When she arrived, everyone still appeared to be slumbering, if not peacefully, then at least without ludicrous thoughts of venturing into the danger-filled Whispering Woods in the dead of night. Catra silently crept across the room and hopped onto their bed. Of course, Catra had been assigned her own bunk, but for several years now she had been sleeping at the foot of Adora’s. In the meanwhile, Catra’s bunk had gratefully been pushed against Rogelio’s, as his bulkier frame barely fit on the standard-issue narrow cot. Thus, it was a situation that suited Adora’s team quite well. Catra was kept tame by Adora and Rogelio wasn’t in danger of slipping off the bed causing a ruckus.

In the darkness, Catra brought her knees to her chest and her tail curled around her feet. She knew that Adora could take care of herself. Out of all the cadets, Adora was the best. She scored nearly perfect marks on written exams, training modules and simulation missions. But still, Catra knew Adora wasn’t perfect, and usually Adora had her teammates watching her back. She had Catra watching her, from the shadows, ready to step in if needed. Catra frowned and wished fervently that this dumb little adventure would be over soon and that Adora would return quickly. It wasn’t as though the Fright Zone didn’t have its own share of terrors or dangers, but at least they were familiar and could tough it out together.

**Report 2: Trouble at Thaymor**

"The evacuated residents of Thaymor, myself, Glimmer and Bow left at 1600 hours and have been heading north-by-northwest through the Whispering Woods since. We are 50 people; half are children and elderly. Glimmer attests that the Princess stronghold of Bright Moon is only half a day’s journey by foot, so what little provisions the townspeople took during the attack should suffice. The casualties of the Battle of Thaymor are estimated to be half a dozen."

Wincing at that painful memory, Adora abruptly ended her internal monologue. Horde officers and cadets were required to submit daily logs of their activities, to promote accountability and accuracy. Out of habit, Adora began drafting her mission log, as if, at the end of the day, she’d be back in the Fright Zone, typing away at the cadet’s computer terminal before heading to the dormitory for the night.

"But I defected from the Horde," she remembered, eyes widening.

She was exhausted, but her mind was restless, half-formed thoughts jostling for attention. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate.

"Right, let’s go through this one by one, Adora," she thought to herself.

"My name is Adora. I’m seventeen years old. I live in the Fright Zone," she muttered to herself.

“Well, I used to,” she corrected.

"I found a magic sword in the woods which lets me transform into this super-powerful Princess called 'She-Ra'."

Adora groaned. This was not making any sense.

Bow heard the small noise of anguish behind him and turned around.

"Are you okay Adora? I know you must be tired, but we’ll be back in Bright Moon in no time!"

Adora gave a grim nod, which elicited an incommensurately wide grin from the young man.

"I’m going to Bright Moon, the center of the Rebellion. I’m going to find some answers to what’s going on and who I am."

Glimmer called excitedly from somewhere ahead, “We made it out of the forest! We’re halfway there everyone!”

A muted cheer rose from the group. Adora didn’t join, wary of how she would be welcomed by the leaders of the organization she had been training her whole life to take down.

"Also apparently, Princesses are _not_ violent threats to the planet and society."

A flash of pink and purple rushing from ahead knocked Adora to the ground.

"Whoops, sorry didn’t see you there; I’m going to go tell rear guard to keep up the pace. They’re so far behind that they’re practically useless!"

Glimmer huffed and ran off on the trail behind her, leaving the former Horde soldier to dust herself off and pick crumbling leaves from her dull blonde hair.

"That last point is not yet confirmed,” Adora added. She resumed her mental list.

"Once I figure things out, I’ll explain to Catra-"

Her stomach lurched. Adora tried to dispel the image of her best friend’s wide, uncomprehending eyes, bright yellow and blue even amidst the smoke of the artillery and flames that were erupting around them.

Adora swallowed forcefully, and reasoned, " _Of course_ Catra couldn’t understand what I was getting at then. I mean, it took me finding the sword and then that whole transformation bit and then finding the First One’s ruin and spending time in Thaymor and hearing what Bow and Glimmer had to say to be convinced that the Horde had been lying to us."

But Adora recalled Catra’s plea-“Of course I knew they were manipulating us. That’s what Shadow Weaver does!”

Did Catra really know the full extent of the Horde’s intentions? The way the Horde had been conquering the planet, subjugating its inhabitants?

Adora doubted it. She and Catra had been together in the Horde since they were little children. Anything Adora didn’t know, Catra likely didn’t. In fact, Catra was so uninterested in Horde culture and history, that it was likely she didn’t know half of what Adora knew.

Maybe Catra just wasn’t as surprised by the Horde’s disingenuous agenda. That felt right; Catra trusted no one.

"Except me, she trusts me," Adora thought with conviction. "So, I’ll just talk to her properly and we’ll sort this out."

"Without tasers," she added shaking her head. Definitely no tasers next time.

**Report 3: Spoils of War**

Bow hummed excitedly to himself as he expertly navigated the expansive halls of the castle. They had reached Bright Moon early in the morning and directed the refugees of Thaymor to set up camp on the grassy fields surrounding the city. Glimmer summoned several Royal Guards to the site to provide protection; while the Horde had never ventured near enough to pose a serious threat to Bright Moon, Glimmer would rather they’d be ready to fight than flee.

From there, Bow and Adora split off to enter the castle through the 'back way' as it were. Despite her complaining, Bow noticed that Adora was certainly fit enough to rappel up the steep mountainside. She was keeping pace with Bow who would take this route whenever Glimmer was grounded and forbidden from having visitors, which was honestly quite often.

Once they were safely hidden in the Princess’s private quarters, Bow had left Adora and went to reconvene with Glimmer. He was very excited about this turn of events. Their first, self-imposed, reconnaissance mission seemed to be a supreme success. Well, it _was_ true that they had gotten into a scrape with the Evil Horde, had dangerously depleted Glimmer’s magical energies and came back with more questions than answers, a group of now-homeless Etherians, and a suspiciously special (former) Horde soldier. But otherwise, it was very _clearly_ a success.

Besides, Bow felt as though he could trust Adora. As he and Glimmer had relayed to her _their_ version of the Horde’s activities on Etheria, Bow watched as Adora’s face expressed disbelief then flickered into confusion and finally morphed into anger. The young archer wondered whether all the trainees at the Horde were this young. Adora hardly looked older than he was and at nineteen, he was barely an adult himself. Then there was the bit about her activating the sword, clearly a potent relic of First Ones' technology, and transforming into a giant glowing mythical figure. If _that_ wasn’t some sort of sign of her being a force for good, then what was?

Adora might be the key to winning this war, the war that had spoiled the planet and the lives of its inhabitants. On both sides of the conflict, it seemed, as Adora’s explanation of how she was brought up in the Horde sounded oppressive and propaganda-ridden.

Bow was an optimist but even he felt unusually hopeful about the future of Etheria this morning.

**Report 4: Sweet Dreams**

Unlike Adora, Glimmer was not used to sleeping in a room with other people. After she, Bow and Adora had returned from Plumeria and gave their progress report to ~~her mom~~ Queen Angella, they had been 'retired' to the second floor of the castle. 'Retired' was the term used by Queen Angella as she spoke to her Commander in front of the War Council; afterwards she told Glimmer in no uncertain terms that she was grounded for a week, since her daughter had disobeyed her direct command to not engage with the Horde. Not even the baskets of Plumeria’s best plums and hazelnuts, imposed upon the trio by the kingdom’s grateful and newly galvanized citizens, had softened the edges of Queen Angella’s rebuke. Still, Glimmer thought while nibbling on a nut in her room later, one week wasn’t _too_ bad. The news of Perfuma’s renewed alliance with the Rebellion probably shaved a few days off her punishment. Bow had suggested they use the week to strategize and do some team-building exercises, such as this sleepover.

The young Princess peered over her blanket. The moonlight filtering from the wall-to-floor window behind Adora illuminated the other inhabitants of the room, both sleeping peacefully. But even if it had been a cloudy night, Glimmer would have been able to tell her friends were down for the count. Adora emitted a slight whistling noise as she slept, while Bow gave the occasional and somewhat rhythmic grunt. She giggled silently at how utterly vulnerable Adora, and by association, She-Ra, was at this moment.

Glimmer snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. While it was true she wasn’t used to these extra ambient noises, she also found them comforting. So that wasn’t what was keeping her up. No, she was just brimming with energy. Not just the magical kind imparted upon her by the Moonstone either. Since finding Adora, and the sword and She-Ra, Glimmer was restless to push the Rebellion into being more like its namesake than just a loose association of people who had been hurt by the Horde.

Bow gave a particularly loud snort and mumbled incoherently.

Glimmer stifled another giggle and daydreamed about all the places she’d go, recruiting Princesses to their cause, about the clever plans they’d concoct to outwit the Horde, about the history they’d unravel as additional stories of She-Ra resurfaced. Eventually, she fell asleep properly and drifted off into more mundane dreams. More, simple ones involving pillow fights and plum pudding.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place through Episode 7: In the Shadows of Mystacor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In an effort to post more frequently, there will probably be more chapters than I originally envisioned.  
> I've slowly begun to add my own embellishments to how magic and other miscellany in Etheria work. I'm also pointedly making Catra less terrible and Adora more culpable in how their relationship goes terribad.

**Report 5: At Sea. Lost**

Catra sputtered and coughed as Scorpia helped her out of the cold, dark sea. The other Force Captain, in an impressive feat of stamina and coordination, had pulled the flailing girl through the water and onto the deserted, rocky beach, following the light of the green flare lit by the other members of the team. Catra stood up shakily and saw the shimmering haze of the Sea Gate on the horizon, mocking her quietly.

"Are you alright?" worried Scorpia.

Catra started to snarl, but instead coughed again, choking on the salty water burning her throat.

"Well, okay I’m just gonna go over there and see what everyone’s up to," explained Scorpia backing away.

But the newly appointed Force Captain didn’t acknowledge her and just twitched her tail agitatedly. A few minutes later, she heard boots crunching on the gravelly sand, but still Catra didn’t turn around.

"I sent a message to the nearest outpost; they’ll be sending a vehicle to pick us up in a few hours," came Lonnie’s voice from behind her.

Catra merely clenched her fist, and Lonnie took that as a sign that she had relayed her message and could now return to ‘camp’ her teammates had set up. Rogelio was trying to coax up the small fire he had started, sorting through the waterlogged driftwood and twigs Kyle had inexpertly gathered. Scorpia was helpfully splitting the larger pieces of wood with her pincers. Lonnie came over and sat down cross-legged on the ground, feeling a little better by the fire and her friends. She chanced a backward glance and saw that Force Captain Catra was still staring off into the distance, her face hidden. Lonnie frowned. Catra was acting as if she was the _only_ person affected by Adora’s departure, although clearly she was the most devastated. Lonnie had always considered Adora a worthy rival and effective leader, if a little bit of a goodie-two-shoes. And through conversations they only had in the relative privacy of their dorm long after lights out, Lonnie knew that Kyle and Rogelio were also upset by these turn of events. Frankly, Lonnie couldn’t understand why anyone would want to leave the security of the Horde to come out into these wild lands, ruled in pieces by temperamental Princesses afflicted with strange magic. Both Lonnie’s parents were officers in the army and so, the Horde was the only thing Lonnie had ever known.

"Hey guys, I found a stash of ration bars in my backpack," exclaimed Kyle, waving the foil-wrapped bricks excitedly.

Rogelio grunted in approval as Kyle began passing them around.

"Wow, thanks so much! I’m definitely feeling a little drained. Swimming is a very cardio-intensive activity," rambled Scorpia, carefully taking a bar in her claws. She juggled it for a little trying to get a hold of the slippery wrapper, before Rogelio took pity and opened it for her.

"You guys are so nice," gushed Scorpia. She then turned around and called out, "Hey Catra, come get warm and have something to eat. You’ll get hyperthermia. That’s just a fancy word for cold and sick."

Catra remained silent, and when Scorpia made a motion to get up, Lonnie reached over and put her hand on the older woman’s leg.

"Just leave her," the newly minted soldier said quietly.

Eventually, a shivering, damp, and somewhat lonely Catra padded over to the campfire. Kyle had curled up and fallen asleep and even Scorpia was dozing off. Rogelio was tending the now blazing flames diligently. Lonnie was keeping watch, binoculars around her neck and the two-way, hand-held radio by her side.

Catra at first kept her distance from the others, but was inevitably drawn to the warmth of the fire and crept closer before sitting down in her usual pensive position; knees drawn to her chest, tail circumscribing her body. Lonnie said nothing, but after a minute, tossed her a ration bar. Catra caught it reflexively and stared at her distorted reflection in the shiny wrapper before tearing it open.

"These things are terrible," she muttered, half-way through the bar.

"Not as bad as those limited edition mint-flavored ones. The ones that could either be toothpaste _or_ food _,"_ remarked Lonnie, grimacing.

"Yeah, not as bad as those," remembered Catra, a smirk creeping up her face despite her best efforts.

"But still pretty bad," she declared, polishing it off.

**Report 6: Let them Eat Cake (Batter)**

"I have a _great_ idea," declared Bow suddenly. He, Glimmer and Adora were hiking down the winding rocky, path down from the Crypto Castle of Dryl, their mission to recruit Entrapta to the Rebellion accomplished. They were now headed towards the village at the base of the mountain where they would try to catch the next caravan to Bright Moon. With luck, they’d be back by the end of the week.

"My new trick arrows will be ones that release cake batter," he continued, unprompted.

The two girls exchanged glances.

"Listen Bow, I know I _just_ said that your sonic arrows came in handy, but really? _Cake batter_?" said Glimmer incredulously.

"Hear me out. I got the idea from how the kitchen staff fought off those hijacked robots."

Glimmer groaned, which Bow took as encouragement.

"Cake batter is thick, so it’ll interfere with the enemy’s vision. Plus, it’s sticky and viscous so they’ll be more likely to drop their weapons or slip and fall down. On top of that, it’s made from biodegradable ingredients so there’ll be less environmental damage to battle sites!"

Adora found herself nodding as Bow laid out his cockamamie idea. Glimmer rolled her eyes as he continued to describe how he could encase a thin capillary tube filled with pressurized batter into the arrow shaft.

"If you’re going to be making batter for the arrows, you should make a proper cake with the leftovers," suggested Glimmer, finally giving in.

" _Could_ you?" asked Adora, wide-eyed. Since experiencing freshly baked goods outside of the Horde, she had been a little obsessed.

Bow grinned, "We _do_ have a lot of birthday cakes to catch you up with."

The trio rounded a corner and scrambled over the scree until they reached a wide and flat ledge carved out of the mountain. They passed an entrance to an abandoned mine to their right. This far down, the solitary Crypto Castle was now out of sight

Unlike some of the other Princesses, Entrapta’s only dominion was over the castle itself and the limited number of staff required for its upkeep. Recently, even the number of humans had been dwindling, replaced by autonomous robots. Perhaps Dryl had been a proper kingdom with sprawling lands and citizenry at one point in time. But as far as Glimmer could recall from the history lessons she managed to stay awake for, the Princesses of Dryl had been residing in the castle on top of the craggy mountain for a few generations.

"If there’s so much First Ones technology scattered across Etheria, how come the Rebellion is so far behind the Horde?" wondered Adora aloud, as she glanced at the mine shaft. Clearly, there had been _some_ industrialization in Etheria at some point.

Bow shrugged, "The First Ones tech is basically gibberish to most of us. Entrapta is one of the few people able to decode it. I mean, there _are_ scholars who study the First Ones, but it is one thing to write a paper on what First Ones could and did do, and another to harness their code for new inventions."

"But you have that nifty tracker pad," Adora pointed out.

Bow pulled out his screen, currently quiet and blank.

"This is just a simple re-purposing of a First Ones magno-magic crystal," he started, as he unlatched the back of the pad to reveal a simple circuit board and a single green crystal.

"The crystal senses the unique wavelengths emitted when magic is used. It’s a simple matter to extrapolate a relative location of the sources from the frequency of the wave and project it onto a relative map of the area."

"Sounds pretty advanced to me," Glimmer admitted.

"It took me a long time to work out, but yeah it _is_ pretty cool," said Bow modestly.

He continued, "But the Horde crash-landed on our planet and brought their advanced tech with them. And while the Horde is super evil, it’s also efficient. From what we’ve heard from our reconnaissance teams, the Fright Zone has factories and an army of people to operate them."

"There’s also the real army; battle-ready soldiers number in the thousands, and there are several hundred in reserve. Not to mention all the cadets in training," added Adora.

Glimmer paled and squeaked, " _Thousands_?"

"Well, the standing army is divided into 13 divisions. Each division contains roughly one or two hundred troops, organized into smaller groups like battalions and squads. So yes, thousands," nodded Adora confidently.

The excitement of having Princess Entrapta join the Rebellion was dulled slightly for Glimmer. Clearly a lot more work would need to be done before they were ready to take on the Horde.

**Report 7: Cast a Spell on Her**

Adora’s remaining days in Mystacor passed more pleasantly than her first. After dispelling the tangible demons that had followed her from the Fright Zone, Adora was finally able to enjoy the unique environment afforded by a floating island of sorcerers.

This morning, she had returned, alone, to the beach. Glimmer had been trying to engage her aunt in conversations regarding the Rebellion and after days of instead being shown the blooming garden courtyard, tasting the newest dishes the kitchen had been experimenting with and going through the family album for what felt like the thirtieth time in her fairly short life, the young Princess finally had Castaspella agree to a meeting with the Council of Sorcerers. Glimmer asked Adora and Bow to sit out, assuring them she would fill them in later.

"I don’t want her to get distracted with you two around. She’ll use you both as an excuse to go into some long-winded talk about the history of some thing or another," Glimmer explained.

So Bow had gone instead to speak with the Mystacor’s defense magicians and Adora was left to enjoy their last day on the mystical island. The plan was to leave for Bright Moon early the next morning.

Adora spread out her blanket on the sun-warmed sand and looked up at the crystal clear sky. She hadn’t realized before, but the skies above the Fright Zone had always appeared hazy and grey, likely due to the smog created by the compound’s heavy industrial activities.

But here, pristinely white clouds rose and retreated up the beach, as if the sky itself was breathing. Adora chuckled. This was the type of 'ocean' that even Catra could enjoy. That girl was so finicky about water even getting her to take a shower was a struggle.

Adora frowned deeply, remembering their squabble at the Sea Gate. Once again, there hadn’t been time to talk. Not with the Gate collapsing and a Horde ship planning to break right through it. What terrible timing! So She-Ra had summarily ignored Catra, even as the girl tried to get her attention in the only way she knew how; by instigating and attacking.

She-Ra had barely felt the blows. Adora was realizing that injuries that occurred while she was She-Ra felt blunted, as though she was feeling them through a highly flexible but study suit of armor. Interestingly, when Adora reverted back, she didn’t have any lasting cuts or bruises either.

Closing her eyes, Adora resolved that next time she’d try a little harder to talk some sense into Catra. She wondered why Catra was now a Force Captain. Catra was rarely on Shadow Weaver’s good side.

"Shadow Weaver has always controlled both of us."

Those words had come from a phantom Catra, one that Adora still wasn’t sure she had conjured up or Shadow Weaver’s spirits had. Nevertheless, that didn’t make them any less true. Adora could see that clearly now. She sat up suddenly, worried.

Catra _was_ rarely in Shadow Weaver’s good books. What if her 'promotion' to Force Captain was just another form of manipulation? Adora looked around her guiltily, taking in her surroundings; the beautiful beach, the tinkling of birdsong, and the soothing susurrus of the clouds. She contrasted that to the cold and metallic feel of the Fright Zone which was what she and Catra had ever known, and where Catra was still.

"Catra’s clever, she’ll know what’s really going on," reasoned Adora, and laid back down, trying to push those unpleasant thoughts away to the back of her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking place during Episodes 8 and 9.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only covering 2 episodes this time, but a little longer than usual too.  
> Definitely starting to make things up too, but hopefully they're all believable as off-screen events.

**Report 8: Two Left Feet**

Catra was clever, which was why Adora knew her friend had something planned up the sleeve of her spiffy suit jacket when the cat arrived at the All-Princess Ball. Not that Adora was successful in convincing Princess Frosta of the danger she posed. Adora really wasn’t having much luck breaking the ice with the child-ruler of the Kingdom of Snows this evening. Between the gaffes of her overt surprise at Frosta’s age (she must have misread the year in which Princess Frosta was born on her flashcard) and in being told bluntly by the cheeky girl that she already knew Adora and Glimmer’s real motive in coming to the Kingdom of Snows, Adora was caught flat-footed in these diplomatic battles. On top of all that, Glimmer’s blatant insecurity regarding Bow’s date with Perfuma was causing her to lose focus on the mission. With Glimmer distracted and Bow taking to heart the Princess Prom’s theme of non-violence, Adora was left to rely on the methods she was most familiar with in dealing with a dangerous force; direct, physical confrontation.

So throughout the night, she had kept an eye on Catra, hoping Glimmer was doing the same with Scorpia. Adora hadn’t even known Scorpia was a Princess! It was certainly not brought up at Force Captain Orientation. And since when were Scorpia and Catra so close? Adora frowned as she remembered how Catra arrived in the grand, glittering hall arm-in-arm with the intimidating, classy older Force Captain.

"She-Ra’s hair is _much_ nicer though," affirmed Adora to herself, absentmindedly running fingers through her own more mediocre hair, as she watched Catra leaning against a column of opaque blue ice, munching on a snack.

"Your jacket is going to get wet, dummy," Adora chided under her breath.

Adora’s guilt at abandoning Catra in the confines of the Fright Zone was unconsciously pushing her to be in a combative mood. After all, if Catra really was just another minion of the evil Horde, Adora’s antagonism toward her was fully justified. Wasn’t it?

In hindsight, tonight could have been an opportunity to have a conversation with Catra. Maybe if she had approached the girl with sincerity instead of suspicion, with an apology instead of anger, things would have turned out differently.

At the very least, Adora might not have been hanging precariously from a frozen, frighteningly tall wall using a hairpin-turned-icepick. As she waited for the Royal Guards to throw down a rope, she tried to focus on what to do next, rather than the icy death that awaited her below.

Even if Adora didn’t believe Catra capable of physically hurting Bow and Glimmer, the former Horde cadet knew Catra was taking them to people who could, and would gladly, inflict pain on her new friends.

Adora scowled and tears burned in her eyes, both from the stinging cold and the losses of so many of her friends today. In the end, she hadn’t been wrong; Catra _had_ wrought havoc tonight. In fact, Adora was a little surprised Catra pulled off a plan involving diversion, deception and collaboration, even as Adora was trying to sabotage her.

Yet, a tiny voice buried underneath her frustration whispered and warned. Couldn’t Adora have stopped all this if she had prioritized defusing the tension between her and Catra? If this continued, wouldn't worse things happen?

That tiny, pleading voice was drowned out by a roar of righteousness. Attacking a peaceful party was dishonest (although certainly within the bounds of the Horde playbook). Catra was completely in the wrong and so, Adora glared at the helicopter as it flew away.

Catra smiled mockingly from the window as Lonnie piloted the craft expertly through the fog. But as soon as Adora was out of sight, Catra’s smile dropped. She turned and looked wearily at the prisoners, bound, gagged and helpless. But they still seemed capable of inflicting damage with just their hard, defiant eyes.

"Set course for the Fright Zone," she ordered, the joy of one-upping the Princesses leaving as quickly as it came.

**Report 9: What She Left Behind**

Catra had thought she was clever. Infiltrating the dumb détente dance-party had been more effective than she had hoped. Not only did she manage to capture the sparkling Princess, but the other member of Adora’s new best friend squad as well. Catra would have called obtaining the Sword of Protection 'icing on the cake', but having grown up in the Fright Zone, she had no idea what cake was. It was Scorpia who had pointed out, after dutifully reading the seemingly endless invitation scroll, that _if_ guests did bring weapons, they were required to check them in before entering the hall. Catra guessed that Adora wouldn’t go anywhere without the Sword, and so, she had Lonnie and Kyle 'sign up' for shifts as a Royal Guard member. Catra would never say it aloud, but she could count on Lonnie to do a job well _and_ cover for Kyle’s ineptitude.

But it was all for nothing. Shadow Weaver had blatantly taken the credit for a victory she hadn’t even known about until Catra sauntered into her chamber with two trophies in each hand. Lord Hordak would know nothing of Catra’s cunning and without the favor of the overlord of the Fright Zone, Catra’s future prospects were nil.

When Adora was brought into the Black Garnet chamber, hands bound behind her back. Catra’s face was inscrutable, although the tail swishing side-to-side revealed her agitation.

But when she was unceremoniously dismissed from the room, Catra paced angrily, loathe to return to the cadet dormitory as she was ordered. Adora was in that room, alone with Shadow Weaver, and Catra, although she would never admit it, was worried.

Catra studied the hallway, dark and nondescript. There! A few inches from the ceiling was a large air vent, fitted with a simple grate. Catra took a few steps back from the wall and then rushed towards it, running straight up several feet before grabbing hold of a water pipe that ran the length of the corridor with one hand and the grate with her other. Very carefully she walked her legs up the rest of the wall and then, using her clawed toes to grab the grate, changed her position so she was holding onto the cold pipe with both hands and the grate with her feet. She wiggled it experimentally and smirked as she saw it was not bolted in place. Soon enough, the grate was loose and she kicked it gently into the air shaft. Next, she slipped her flexible figure almost effortless into the narrow opening. It was tight, but not impossible to maneuver in. Once inside, she kept still for a minute, listening carefully.

Catra then crawled forward, the pupils in her heterochromatic eyes fully dilated to make use of every speck of light. She reached a T-junction, cocked her ears once more, and then took the path to the right. After crawling a few more yards, she could see another grate, outlined in an ethereal blood-red light. Catra stopped a foot away from the opening, but was still able to make out the scene below her. Shadow Weaver circling a supine Adora, like a predator waiting to make a final, fatal move. Meanwhile, the once-sparkling but now pitiful, Princess cried out in pain each time she tried to escape her magical restraints.

Catra told herself she didn’t care one lick about what happened to the purple Princess, although she inadvertently flinched as she watched the young girl struggle. Catra hid in the background, listening as Shadow Weaver talked of wiping Adora’s memory. Catra’s stomach lurched as she realized this would certainly mean scouring Catra from Adora’s memory as well. Shadow Weaver would never acknowledge her worth and Catra was tired of it.

Why was Adora here? Why did Adora place herself in danger for this weakling Princess when she never even came back for Catra?

"Because Adora doesn’t need you," whispered a voice in her mind after Catra witnessed Glimmer miraculously break through Shadow Weaver’s black magic and knock the old witch out cold.

"Because Adora doesn’t even _like_ you," whispered another voice, as Catra watched the two girls embrace, help each other up and run from the room, hand-in-hand.

If Catra was to break free of Shadow Weaver’s grip, she’d need to be as single-minded about it as that twinkling, twittering Princess was. Shadow Weaver was unconscious, but not for long. Catra turned back quickly in the shaft, a plan forming with each step.

She needed power. And here in the Fright Zone, that would only be granted by Lord Hordak. There was no point in bringing him Adora. Lord Hordak didn’t seem to care about the previously competent cadet turned Horde defector. She was, after all, just a single girl. But if Catra managed to best She-Ra, _that_ was something worth honoring. So first, Catra needed to ensure there _was_ a She-Ra to best.

Back in the hallway, Catra ran quickly to the closest weapons vault, where she knew Shadow Weaver had placed the confiscated Sword of Protection. Catra merely needed to flash her Force Captain badge and the low-ranking guard on duty stepped aside. After that, it was simple to knock the guard out from behind. The Sword lay patiently on one of the inset shelves. Catra picked it up, surprised at how lightweight it was.

When she caught up to Adora and Glimmer, Catra’s plan was nearly complete. It wouldn’t be enough to defeat She-Ra in battle, the girl realized. Catra would need to completely subdue the Rebellion, win the war, and conquer Etheria. Sure, it was a little ambitious, but fairly straightforward.

So Catra handed the Sword over to Adora, whose blue eyes were wide with disbelief.

"It’s _not_ because I like you."

But as Catra uttered those words, the tiniest voice of all inside her whispered, "“That’s a lie."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just covering two episodes, The Beacon and Promise from Season 1, this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short update to prove I'm still willing and able to work on this! 
> 
> Side note 1: If you haven't read "Pack Behavior" by piecesof_reeses, I recommend it. Unless told otherwise by the creators themselves, I'm going to treat it as canon for Catra's origin story and may reference some of those events here.  
> Side note 2: The recent chapters have been Adora and Catra-centric, but I will aim to include the other characters in the future.

**Report 11: Into the Woods**

Two girls wandered in the woods, looking and feeling lost. They didn’t so much as walk in circles as scramble over shrub and roots in sinusoidal patterns. Their paths would certainly converge at some point, although whether the outcome would be destructive or constructive was still unknown to each of them.

Adora sighed in defeat as she stepped into a clearing and spied the very same rock she had scored an hour ago with the Sword of Protection. She peered up through the green-blue, leafy ceiling at the scant sky above in a desperate bid to get her bearings. Why had it been so easy to stumble onto Madame Razz’s cottage a few weeks ago and subsequently into the First Ones’ ruin? Adora had always received topped marks in navigation and tracking and as she set out from Bright Moon that morning, she had been confident she would find the site again. But she had been unsuccessful. She plunged the Sword unceremoniously into the mossy ground and sat down on the boulder looking at the magical item that had changed the course of her life.

Magic.

Adora really didn’t understand it. It was unpredictable, inconsistent and frankly, inequitable. Why had _Adora_ been chosen to wield this Sword? Why did Glimmer need to recharge with the Moonstone to use her powers while Perfuma could seemingly sprout flowers for hours on end? How could Frosta move monolithic pillars of ice while Entrapta merely had prehensile ponytails?

Even in the dim twilight of the Whispering Woods, the Sword gleamed, almost mockingly. Adora knew it contained hidden powers and abilities. But without an instruction manual, it was almost useless. Except for when she needed to smash and slice things; in those cases it was more than sufficient.

Adora tried hard to recall whether anyone in the Horde, besides Shadow Weaver, used magic. She decided that she hadn’t seen or heard of magic being part of the Horde’s arsenal, which was plenty varied already. It made sense. Machinery could be employed by anyone with proper training. As long as everything was kept in good order, machines didn’t result in unexpected behavior either. Unlike the failure of the Sword to heal her hurting friend or its mysterious infection with contaminated data crystals.

But Bow had said that the First Ones’ artifacts left on Etheria were actually advanced technology. Were the First Ones so far advanced that their ordinary wares seemed like magic to present-day Etherians?

Adora shook her head. The First Ones’ devices were one thing, but there _was_ magic within Etheria itself. She could feel it pulsating in this deep, dark forest. How the magic of Etheria and this futuristic Sword were related, Adora had no idea. Nor would she find out for a long time still.

Meanwhile, Catra was angrily grappling with similar thoughts, as well as with the hanging vines and thorny brush as she made her way noisily through the Whispering Woods. Catra stumbled into a small hollow and took the opportunity to consult, or decipher rather, the blinking purple screen she held in one hand. The Princess had said her detector would lead Catra straight to source of the signal, but Catra couldn’t make heads or tails of all the squiggling lines and flashing lights. She had never been good at navigation and tracking by using maps. She had managed passing grades in the practical exams by relying on her senses; it was especially easy to follow Adora’s scent through the labyrinth constructed by the examiners to confuse the cadets.

Catra flipped the screen over to see if the picture made more sense. The wavy lines, lines of text and blinking dots seemed as indecipherable as ever.

"Why can’t this stupid thing just give me simple directions like 'Turn right here' or 'Continue for five minutes until you reach this big rock and then turn left' ?" she groaned.

While it was true that the Horde wasn’t using any First Ones technology currently, as far as Catra could tell, the ambitious girl knew an ace card when she saw one. Between the genius Princess Entrapta Scorpia was keeping captive back in the Fright Zone and a supposedly super powerful piece of ancient technology buried somewhere in these woods, Catra felt she was close to holding a pair of aces. But after hours of searching, it seemed like she had lost this gamble. So Catra tossed the useless block of metal and plastic to the side in frustration.

Now that she was looking out and into the forest instead of the screen, her excellent low-light vision picked out a slight, ethereal glow to her left. And it seemed impossible but she caught snatches of a familiar, almost soothing, scent in the air. The cat now proceeded forward quietly, slipping through rope-like vines and over fallen logs and branches and finally scampering up a tree trunk to get a better look.

Balancing herself expertly on the thick bough, she observed the scene below and smiled to herself.

"Hey Adora," she whispered.

**Report 12: Catra’s Worst Memory**

Catra left Princess Entrapta under Scorpia’s supervision, although the cat didn’t believe that their 'prisoner' would be attempting to escape any time soon. Not with an exciting new toy to play with. A small grim smile lighted Catra’s face in anticipation of the powerful new weaponry that Entrapta might be able to develop for the Horde. For Catra.

The walk back to her room was long and deserted. When Entrapta stumbled out of the metal-work the other day, Scorpia suggested taking her to the rarely used southeast wing of the compound. Warehouses and provision pantries holding non-combat goods lined the corridor that Catra padded down silently. This late at night, she was not expecting to encounter any patrols or guards, although with her Force Captain badge still pinned tightly to her chest, she was safe from undue interrogation.

Catra winced. Unbidden, the memory unearthed in the warped world of the First One’s ruin surfaced, the one where Shadow Weaver immobilized her with dark, sickly magical restraints. Catra rubbed her neck unconsciously as she recalled the oppressive and seemingly unstoppable nature of Shadow Weaver’s wrath. At the time, Catra honestly thought she was going to be exiled, or worse, had Adora not stepped forward. Her small, round, but fearless friend had defused the lethal nature of _that_ situation, although Shadow Weaver’s disdain of Catra would continue to smolder in the background.

More memories unraveled from the complicated and dense mess of Catra’s mind.

Catra recalled the humiliation of having her abysmally low marks on the written exams announced in front of the class. Having strayed into the Fright Zone as a young child, Catra was years behind her age-matched peers in reading, writing and arithmetic. On the other hand, she was quite adept at running, wrestling and amusing Adora. Between herself and Adora, that had seemed plenty enough to be proud of.

But then she remembered the indignation of being passed over as a leader for their training squad. Catra hadn’t forgotten how Kyle, Rogelio and Lonnie had immediately turned to Adora for guidance in their first training mission. There had been no mandate from their supervisors on who the team leader should be, yet everyone seemed to converge on Adora, the star cadet whose skills had been sharpened against the whetstone that was Catra.

As she entered her sleeping quarters, Catra shook her head physically as if to dispel the scenes of her worst memories from her mind.

However, a familiar, nagging voice suggested that there were now worse things to remember.

The exhausted cat stumbled over to the sink and began washing the caked blood from the scratches and cuts accumulated in the tussles with the security spiders earlier that evening. She smoothed back her dark hair roughly with her fingers and caught sight of her mismatched, weary eyes in the mirror.

"How could you leave Adora hanging for her life back there?" the small voice scolded.

"She’s got a sparkling magical sword, she’ll be fine," muttered the cat to herself.

"You threw that over the ledge," the voice quipped.

"Augh, she’ll still be fine. She always is."

"How could you tell her that you don’t need her?" the small voiced pressed on.

"Because I _don’t_ ," the cat snarled at the mirror.

"And don’t tell me I’m lying," Catra added for good measure, before her conscience could get in a word otherwise.

The voice kept a dignified silence, which seemed to depress Catra even more than its admonishments. The one small mercy afforded Catra, as she collapsed into her bunk, was that she was too tired to be kept awake with visions of her worst memories, old and new. She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep and awoke anxious and alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This wraps up Season 1!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between moving and ramping up at work, future updates might take a little longer. Sorry about that!
> 
> Side note 1: I originally watched the series in French and actually prefer Scorpia's French voice actor to the original. As a result, I have a slightly altered impression of Scorpia's personality based on the differences in voice alone. 
> 
> Side note 2: Am I the only one who wondered why none of Bright Moon's guards were actually helping defend the castle during the attack? I gave them a pass here though.
> 
> Side note 3: Bow is the best.

**Report 13: Data Drive**

"Day 3 of Experiment 001 with First One Artifact Number 27. Location: The Fright Zone. I’ve deciphered approximately 12.5% of the original code and an additional 10% has been roughly annotated. Main takeaway from this preliminary analysis is that parallel processing via the data chip enables enhanced extraction of power from the planet’s magneto-magical field. The quantum mechanics of energy storage and transfer remain unknown, and will require analyzing additional intact crystals to understand fully. However, this much progress in such a short time is astounding."

Entrapta clicked off her recorder and twirled gleefully in her swivel chair. Scorpia watched bemusedly. The Black Garnet, her family’s heirloom, stood as an unnerving centerpiece to the room. The magenta crystal let off a glow bright enough to illuminate the room, although additional spotlights had been brought in by Entrapta as she refurbished the chamber into a laboratory. Several black cables were fastened around the Black Garnet and fed into the ceiling-high computer terminal Entrapta had built the day before from scavenged hardware. Of course, now with Lord Hordak’s official order, the unusual trio consisting of Force Captains Catra and Scorpia and the Princess Entrapta, formerly of the Rebellion, would have plentiful resources to conduct their research on the First One’s technology.

Scorpia walked around the Runestone feeling, not for the first time, in awe of its magical properties. Not that she could, or would want to, tap into such power herself. No, she was satisfied with where she was now, helping her new friends Catra and Entrapta. At the moment, it was just Entrapta, as Catra had disappeared a few hours ago.

The Princess was gazing intensely at one of several screens mounted on the terminal. Scorpia looked up as well and only saw a waterfall of text-like symbols with an occasional graph or schematic popping up. She copied Entrapta’s studious look and tried to focus on the data streaming across the screen.

A minute later she shook her head and gave in.

"So Entrapta, what exactly is going on here?" she probed, gently poking the smaller woman on the shoulder with her claw.

Entrapta hummed, "We are unraveling the mysteries of this universe!"

Scorpia bit her lip, "Huh, 'unraveling' doesn’t sound good. I mean, unraveling things makes a mess. Like that time I tore a hole in my blanket and then all the threads were showing and the hole kept getting bigger and eventually the whole thing fell apart. And it’s _really_ tough to find an extra-large blanket around here."

The scientist laughed, "We’re not going to unravel the _universe_. Well, I guess we _could_ , but that would impede further scientific inquiries."

The taller woman nodded slowly, "Right, definitely wouldn’t want to end the world. Especially not before we’ve all had a slumber party. You, me and Catra I mean."

Entrapta cocked her head, "Oooh, the Fright Zone has an EEG machine? I’ve always wanted to collect data on brain waves of different Etherian populations."

She hopped off her chair and with the help of her animated ponytails rose up level with Scorpia’s shoulders and pulled out a measuring tape from her pocket. Scorpia laughed uncomfortably as Entrapta circled around her, measuring the circumference of her head.

"Erm, well I don’t know about an 'eegie' machine, but I think a slumber party involves snacks and telling each other our dreams and then teasing each other but secretly supporting each other too. And then we all fall asleep in a giant pile of pillows and blankets."

"Are the snacks tiny?" asked Entrapta, as she recorded the measurements in her tablet computer.

"I guess they could be. I’m not sure snack size is a key element to the party, but you may very well be right. I heard all this second-hand from that boy we captured the other day."

But Entrapta’s attention was already back on the flickering screens. One of those foreign symbols must have looked off, because she frowned. Entrapta ducked underneath to examine a connection between one of the cables and the mainframe while one of her ponytails continued clicking autonomously on the keyboard above. Behind them the door to the research station, previously Shadow Weaver’s sanctum, slid open with a metallic click.

"Hey team, what’s the status on this magic crystal thing?"

Catra sauntered into the room, taking in the new piles of equipment and screens that seemed to have sprouted in ways that no vegetation ever did in the Fright Zone.

Entrapta launched into a jargon-filled explanation of the several tests she was running and models she was building, only to be met with a blank stare.

Catra sighed, "Alright, something something math and magic, but eventually we’re going to have access to a ginormous amount of power. Is that about right?"

Entrapta opened her mouth again, but Catra raised her hand.

"Just nod or shake your head," she commanded.

The jubilant Princess nodded vigorously.

"Great, keep at it. Oh yeah, I brought some snacks. Swiped the best ration bars from the cafeteria."

She brought out several hermetically-wrapped packages in exciting colors such as brick red, maroon and grey.

Scorpia smiled, "Thanks a bunch Catra. Just in time for dinner! Or well, guess it’s more like a midnight snack at this hour."

Entrapta’s eyes widened, "Oh wow, they’re so _tiny_."

Catra, who had already unwrapped one and taken a bite, mumbled, her mouth full, "Mmyeah, they’re shuper dense. All protein and shugar and shtuff."

She swallowed forcefully and then continued, looking at Scorpia in particular.

"I nicked some pillows and blankets from the dorms too. I wouldn’t put it past Shadow Weaver to try to sneak in here and snatch the crystal back. So one of us will always stand guard ‘cause I doubt Miss Mad Scientist over there has much firepower on her own."

Entrapta, to her credit, furnished a small blow-torch from a pocket in her jumpsuit and grinned.

Catra smirked, placing her hands on her hips, "Huh, not bad."

**Report 14: Breakfast at Bright Moon**

"The Princesses are all united!"

At least, they had been yesterday at the 'Battle of Bright Moon', as Bow’s historian parents would later name the event in their widely-read 'Chronicles of She-Ra'. The heroes were both invited and implored to rest at Bright Moon and help secure the Rebellion’s barely standing stronghold against a potential counterattack by the Horde. The Royal Guards, who had been evacuating the castle’s inhabitants during the actual battle, had resumed their sentry posts that evening and so the victorious, but weary, members of the Rebellion retired to the castle as guests of honor.

However, the current chaos of activities taking place on the castle grounds this morning nearly rivaled the hostilities of the previous day.

Bow stepped around Perfuma who had taken to beautifying the castle’s austere white corridors with vases of overflowing and fragrant bouquets. He sighed as this meant she was not doing her assigned job in clearing the debris outside. Still, after catching a whiff of a particularly enchanting medley of lilies, he smiled and gave the Princess a thumbs-up.

Reaching the first floor antechamber, Bow stumbled into a migraine-inducing argument between Glimmer and Frosta. At first, Bow was relieved that Frosta was finally awake; the pint-sized Princess staunchly ignored all calls to wake up bright and early since they had a full day’s work ahead of them. Not even the temptation of a pancake breakfast had stirred the sleeping child.

"Can you just _please_ focus on your clean-up assignment?" insisted Glimmer, exasperated that Frosta had returned inside only an hour after they had divided into teams to redress the battle wounds inflicted upon the castle. Bow decided he would not mention Perfuma’s redecoration endeavors at the moment either.

"I want to be part the meeting too!" demanded Frosta, all but stomping her foot in indignation.

Glimmer pressed her fingers to her temple, "Frosta, right now I’m discussing with my mo-the Queen things that only concern us. We’ll have another meeting with _everyone_ in the evening."

Frosta sniffed and left reluctantly, glaring at Bow, who she interpreted as having more clout and importance in the Rebellion than she, Ruler of the Kingdom of Snows, did.

Bow smiled encouragingly at the young girl, oblivious to her envy.

Glimmer turned to her best friend and sighed.

"My mom’s gone to gather the head of the Guards and she asked us to bring Adora too. Can you go find her?"

Bow nodded enthusiastically and gave his best friend a quick, reassuring hug, "You’re doing great Commander Glimmer!"

"Right, right," Glimmer replied distractedly.

Stepping outside, Bow surveyed the clean-up efforts. Yes, there was Mermista sorting out the flotsam of Sea Hawk’s ship, which had been used as a one-time fiery missile, and the jetsam of the Horde’s tanks and robots from the castle’s normally pristine moat. On his left, Spinnerella was sweeping the grassy lawn clean of rubble. Above him, he heard Netossa organizing the staff in clearing the balconies of debris and spent artillery.

There was a sudden tap at his shoulder. Bow turned to face Sea Hawk, who wore a winning smile. 

"Bow, my brave brother-in-arms. I have been searching high and low for you!"

"Oh, you were? How’s progress going in your area?"

"Aha, yes, that’s _exactly_ why I was seeking you out. I cannot recall what I’m supposed to do."

The young man groaned, “What have you been doing all this time then?”

"Never fear! I was helping our grand cause by composing a sea shanty extolling our heroic adventure."

Now Bow liked sea shanties as much as anyone whose name was Sea Hawk, but even he knew this was not a priority at the moment. So the young archer shook his head and pulled out his clipboard.

"Let’s see; you’re supposed to be helping Perfuma at the edge of the Whispering Woods."

"Yes, yes that sounds familiar," agreed Sea Hawk, looking up and down and left and right for the Princess.

Bow sighed, "Perfuma is inside the castle actually, you’ll have to go find her."

"Never fear! I will rescue the Princess!"

"Wait, she doesn’t need to be _rescued_ ," Bow called out as the other man dashed up the steps to the main gate.

Shaking his head in amusement, Bow continued to climb down the steps and headed to where Adora had been assigned. The sky above was a serene, almost boring, blue; a stark contrast to the moody, freakish weather from yesterday. He found Adora, or She-Ra rather, hauling monoliths of white sandy rock as directed by the castle carpenters. They had been assigned with repairing the gaping holes in the outer wall.

Bow hailed his friend and She-Ra turned around excitedly. The worker next to her ducked to avoid being knocked unconscious by the large, craggy block She-Ra was holding.

"Hey Bow, we’re making some good progress here!"

"Thank goodness some of you are at least."

"Hmm, what’s that?"

"It’s nothing. Anyways, Queen Angella is having a meeting and she’s asking for you too."

"Okay, I’ll just set this down and come up."

She-Ra dumped the block at the edge of the wall, sending up a small cloud of dust.

"Sorry everyone, I’ll be back as soon as I can," Adora apologized. She patted her dusty hands clean on the front of her grey pants and followed Bow back up to the castle.

Adora surveyed the damage, extensive but not irreparable, done to her new home on their walk across the grounds. She smiled as she saw her new friends and allies pitching together to right the wrongs of yesterday. It was that thought that gave her sustenance and hope in the coming days and weeks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These two snippets take place during the first few episodes of Season 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, still alive!   
> It's been a while since Glimmer has been in the spotlight so that was refreshing to write.  
> Also, maybe people care about Kyle. Just a little bit.

**Report 15: Mementos and More**

As soon as she had tugged off her boots, unclipped her cape, and pulled on freshly laundered pajamas, Glimmer teleported to her hanging bed and flopped down heavily. It had felt like a never-ending marathon since the Battle of Bright Moon. She honestly couldn’t keep track of how many meetings, impromptu and planned, had occurred since then. Or how many forays they had taken into the half-frozen forest to fend off Horde bots. Or how many messengers were sent to sprawling cities and provincial villages alike, alerting them to the growing danger of the Horde and urging them to join the Rebellion.

The Princess rolled over and sighed into her freshly laundered pillow. At least the Rebellion now had an idea for a different tactic with the capture of the new bot. Bow was already dismantling it in his workshop, hoping it would yield information about the Horde’s sudden technological advances. Glimmer though had called it a day and retired to her room after the lengthy debrief with the War Council. Bow’s excitement at the prospect of uncovering new data and implementing it for the good of the Rebellion reminded Glimmer of Princess Entrapta. She closed her eyes at the painful thought.

They hadn’t spent much time with the Princess from Dryl or had gotten to know her well, but she had still been a comrade. Admittedly, a weird one, but Glimmer would be hard-pressed to convince herself or anyone else that Entrapta was any odder than the other Princesses. While the teamwork between Mermista, Perfuma and Frosta had improved lately, it was only flawless in the face of certain death; for less perilous, but still critical tasks, their personalities clashed.

Still, today had seen some progress in Glimmer and Frosta’s relationship. Glimmer wondered why the young Princess seemed to idolize _her_ of all people. After all, Frosta was in the company of several Princesses, not to mention She-Ra!

Glimmer turned over and looked at the awfully familiar ceiling. She had spent her entire life in this castle, in this room. She wondered what it would have been like to have so many Princesses to look up to. It was true that she had visited the other Kingdoms of Etheria. But they had never stayed long as King Micah and Queen Angella’s goals were in building a coalition to fight the Horde, not to find their daughter playmates. After her father’s death and the unraveling of the Rebellion, their travels ceased and Queen Angella grieved alone. And while she certainly never ignored Glimmer, Angella _had_ ignored the growing girl’s need for companions and lessons that are learned amongst others rather than at a desk. The other members of the castle, cooks and cleaners, guards and gardeners, were always kind to Glimmer, but they had limited time to indulge a child’s wishes and whims.

Occasionally, traveling merchants and caravans and other nomadic folk would encamp on the castle’s grounds, selling their wares cheaply and news from beyond the Kingdom’s borders for a premium. Glimmer would eagerly wander amongst the stalls and tents, although she always stopped short of trying to join the children in their games and banter. She felt awkward in her bright, royal dress and unusual with the flickers of magic that bubbled underneath her thoughts and fingers and sometimes floated to the real world unbidden.

Only Bow had held her gaze, so many years ago, as she peered hungrily from the edge of the grassy common, watching a complicated game that involved several bats, brooms and balls. Only Bow had strode up to her, confident and kind, and asked if she’d like to join.

Yes, Bow’s engineering, both mechanical and social, would be crucial in the war against the Horde. A slight smile formed on the young Princess’s face as she drifted off to sleep.

**Report 16: Return to Dryl**

The trek back to Dryl took longer than Catra anticipated. Although she had meant to be facetious with Bow and Glimmer, it ironically _had_ been tiring being dragged around and nearly drowned when they kept her 'hostage'. Scorpia noticed that Catra didn’t have as much pounce and perk in her step as usual.

"Are you alright? Would you like me to carry you back? You don’t look very heavy so it wouldn’t be very hard."

Catra shot her a sideways glare and shook her head vehemently.

The sight of how quickly and comprehensively the troops had set up base at Dryl lifted Catra’s spirits though. Of course, capturing Dryl was more a formality than anything as the Crypto Castle grounds were mostly empty and the staff had not put up much (physical) resistance when they saw their own Princess leading the Horde up the rocky path. They had been incredulous to hear that Entrapta was employed by the Horde now given that she had ventured off arm-in-hand with the young leaders of the Rebellion just a month or two ago. But the Horde soldiers, while gruff, were not unkind and merely unpacked their things and began redecorating the central plaza; there was no wanton destruction or bullying.

Catra walked between the newly erected barracks and supply tents and decided she wanted to check up on Entrapta. She told as much to Scorpia and Lonnie, leaving the latter to oversee the sentry schedule for the night.

Too late, Catra realized that the labyrinth of Crytp Castle wasn’t something one should tackle at the end of a long day. She stalked through the dimly lit corridors and hallways, using her acute hearing to slowly head in the general direction of the laboratory. Kyle’s occasional high pitched shrieks were of particular help in her navigation efforts. Eventually, she found the source of that unique sound signature huddling outside the door to the lab.

"Catra," he cried gratefully. "You escaped! We were so worried when you had gone missing this morning!"

Catra frowned and flicked his forehead dismissively, "Duh! As if those dopes could get the better of _me_. Is there an evil army of robots inside I should be aware of?"

Kyle pondered, "I think Entrapta has them under control now. I haven’t heard any screams in a while."

"Okay, I’m gonna get some updates from our lab manager here, so you head back to camp."

"But Catra, this castle is a maze! I don’t know how to get out."

"Figure it out Kyle," Catra shrugged unsympathetically as she opened the door to step inside.

Even if the robots were tame now, it certainly looked like they had thrown a tantrum earlier. Shattered screens and bolts littered the floor, which was also marked ominously with a half a dozen scorch marks. A faded, but distinct scent of burnt rubber lingered in the air.

"Good morning Catra!" yelped Entrapta from a corner where she had been fiddling with the control panel of a small teapot shaped robot.

"It’s night," corrected the Force Captain.

"Huh is it really? Time sure does fly when you’re having fun."

Catra gestured at the wreckage and asked dryly, "This was fun?"

"Yes! It took a little while but I think I’ve safely rebooted my robots after that infectious crystal incident."  
  
"Well, I’m not sure how useful _that_ ," Catra pointed at the squat, magenta-colored robot Entrapta was fussing over, "is going to be for the Horde army."

"Oh but Patty is _very_ useful. She makes the best tea in the castle and can keep it warm for you all day. I’ve added an espresso-making module as well."

"An express wha-actually nevermind. The point is, do you have what you need to work on that _other_ project we discussed?"

"I thinks so, my lab notebooks are all still here."

Catra grinned, "Great."

She watched the Princess tinkering and felt a growing sense of pride and exhilaration.

"Let’s call it a day, er night, and head back to camp. Kyle is probably wandering the corridors in tears so we’ll need to find him first though."

"Aye aye Captain!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story marches on! Some snippets from Season 2 Episodes 3 and 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still alive! Also I doubt I'm the only one who wondered why Fire beat Grass.

**Report 17: Busy Work**

Catra strode out of Lord Hordak’s chamber feigning confidence. As soon as she turned the corner, she hugged herself, the lingering fear of almost suffocating to death causing her to tremble.

"Lord Hordak’s just as pernicious as Shadow Weaver," she muttered to herself with a grimace. She then cocked her head. Did she just use the word 'pernicious'? Adora must have told her at some point what that meant and it somehow lodged itself in her head.

Back in her self-proclaimed 'War Council' room, Catra sat on the cold floor, papers sprawled around her. Scorpia’s clumsiness had caused them to scatter in all directions and no order could be found to any of the files now. Catra had sent the questionably capable Force Captain to keep an eye on Entrapta instead, although even that might have been too much for Scorpia to handle. Catra snatched at a dark blue file folder and flipped it open. She scanned the pages; something about the plumbing system and water pressure issues in the older sectors of the compound.

"Augh," Catra groaned. "This. Is. So. Stupid."

She tossed the file away. This sort of stuff was what Adora liked to do. Read mind-numbingly boring incident reports and financial ledgers and history of personnel changes.

Right now, Catra just needed to know what material armor was made of and where she could find more of it. She pulled the next nearest file to her. The current and former roster of Force Captains. Despite it not being the information she needed, Catra found herself flipping through the pages, nodding subconsciously as she recognized some of the names. She paused on the page that described Adora.

_"A highly distinguished Cadet with excellent marks in all didactic courses."_

_"Physical strength is average, but possesses excellent reflexes, stamina and coordination."_

_"Has taken supplementary courses in Advanced Military Tactics, Martial Arts and Field Medicine."_

Catra stared at the headshot of Adora that was pinned to the file. Adora’s blue eyes were stern and though her mouth was unsmiling, there was a subtle passion in her expression that came through. Catra crinkled her nose, removed the whole sheet from the file and put it carefully to the side before continuing with the rest, curious to see if there was a page on her. She kept thumbing through the pages, anger and tension building, until she reached the end. She then noticed the small signature at the end of each page.

"Shadow Weaver," she whispered.

Of course, it had been Lord Hordak that had promoted Catra to Force Captain, not Shadow Weaver and Catra highly doubted that he would deign to put together a stirring report about her. Or that he ever did any sort of paper work. He hardly knew anything about Catra, which was all the more reason for her to show him what she was capable of. True, Shadow Weaver had always been biased against Catra which was difficult enough, but the volatile Lord Hordak was seeming just as challenging to please.

She got up, stretched her sore limbs and surveyed the mess in the room. After a few minutes of cleaning up and putting the files together in some semblance of order, she took the original report Scorpia had brought describing the request for armor and strode out of the room.

"Shadow Weaver," she whispered to herself again. It was time that woman made herself useful to Catra.

**Report 18: Perfect Plans**

Adora groaned into her hands. The planning session had devolved into an excited debate over whether or not Perfuma’s plant golem would be fire-resistant.

"Plants are mostly made up of water," Frosta argued, "So it won’t burn. I _like_ the plant golem idea."

Mermista sniffed, "Yeah but then why do we use firewood for, uh, fires?"

Perfuma huffed, "I will summon a freshly sprouted golem so I agree with Frosta; it will certainly be able to resist the Horde’s artillery."

"And _how_ exactly are you going to do that?" asked Adora, exasperated. She looked over to Bow and Glimmer for support, but the former was carefully rearranging all the figurines on the table map and Glimmer was nodding enthusiastically. Of course Glimmer would be on-board with a mythical magical plant creature.

"With _magic_ ," Perfuma replied confidently.

"But, have you ever done it before?" Adora asked critically.

"No, but I’m sure I could. When the time comes. If I believe in myself," assured Perfuma.

Adora groaned again. These sorts of fantastical situations would never hold muster in her Advanced Military Tactics class. There, she and the other students studied historic battles and theories and devised strategies taking into account limitations of geography, artillery and person-power.

Yet, at the end of the day, the Rebellion had won back the stronghold without any casualties or setbacks. Adora leaned over the stone walls of the recovered tower-fort and watched the river rushing below. While she was quite pleased with the outcome, she wondered what had been the point of all her studying and training at the Horde, if a rag-tag team of Princesses, albeit powerful ones, could achieve victory on the battlefield using just their intuition and heat-of-the-moment teamwork. She was still contemplating this paradox as Glimmer strode up to her.

"Hey Adora, good job today," the Princess of Bright Moon said.

"You mean as She-Ra?"

Glimmer shook her head, "No, as you. I had never done that much planning for an attack before."

Adora leaned back from the wall and looked at Glimmer incredulously, "But, we didn’t even settle on a strategy!"

Glimmer rocked on her toes, looking over the wall herself and taking in the impressive sight of the winding river and the Whispering Woods beyond.

"So what? It was useful to go through all the scenarios the Horde could have thrown at us. And I’d _never_ have thought about what Frost could do if she was 'Winter’s Bane' by which I mean 'ice armor'."

"I guess," murmured Adora, unconvinced.

"No one else here thinks like you do Adora, no one else knows the Horde as well as you do."

The young girl grimaced and turned away. She had thought she had known the Horde, but she had been deceived. She wondered how many others in the Horde were still being deceived.

Catra had seen through the deception hadn’t she though? So why was she still there? Adora suspected that no number of role playing sessions would lead her to understand Catra’s motivations.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still in Season 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I've settled into a pattern of updating chapters that are focused on 2 episodes at a time. Slow and steady!

**Report 19: Kittens in Mittens**

Catra was asleep. Curled up in the blanket and leaning against Scorpia, she dozed as the other Force Captain watched with bated breath, visible in the frosty air. The smaller girl’s nose was red from the cold, her hands were stuffed obstinately in her jacket and her tail was wrapped tightly around her ankles in imitation of a scarf. But Scorpia was too scared to try to pull the blanket tighter or bring the cat closer to her, lest she wake her.

Waking a wildcat was probably not a good idea.

"Still, this is nice," thought Scorpia. Entrapta had, of course, programmed the boat to navigate back to the outpost where they had initially set out from and in this remote region of Etheria, there was no real fear of being ambushed by the Rebellion. The ragtag resistance barely had enough people power to defend their towns, let alone launch offensives against small sorties like this. So it would likely be an uneventful few hours until they were back. Despite the scuffle with the Bow, Adora and Glimmer and those menacing snow-worm- _things_ , the expedition hadn’t been a complete loss. Even now, Entrapta was examining the massive First One Tech unearthed in that dark pit.

If Catra had been awake, she’d likely be pacing and plotting impatiently. Scorpia was realizing that Catra was particularly ruffled whenever Adora showed up to botch her brilliantly crafted plans. Scorpia could understand the irritation with She-Ra; an unknown magical being with immense powers and who was clearly a threat to the Horde. But Adora? Adora was just a small, and surprisingly floppy, girl, although admittedly, most people seemed small to Scorpia. Scorpia hadn’t overlapped with Adora and Catra in the Cadet Academy and, as a nod her family’s relationship with the Horde, Scorpia had been allowed her own private room in the dormitories. Sure, she heard about Adora when she was promoted to Force Captain, one of the youngest appointments in Horde history, but Adora had defected a few days later. Adora didn’t seem like a loyal friend in Scorpia’s very humble opinion.

Catra’s ear twitched. Scorpia gave a small smile. Catra was complicated, to say the least. But there was something about Catra’s confidence and cunning that Scorpia found fascinating and admirable. Catra’s ideas were unusual, but even Scorpia could see they had a fairly decent success rate. 

It was now flurrying slightly, but Scorpia barely noticed the icy flakes as they fell on her hard, insulating armor. She sighed, a cloud materializing in front of her. She knew the only reason _she_ had been made Force Captain was because her kingdom made a treaty with Lord Hordak. She, the young Princess, would be held in high esteem in the Horde army and given a position befitting her background. But Scorpia had always felt like she had two left feet (and she often checked in the mornings to make sure she didn’t) whenever she was in charge.

Being assigned to assist Force Captain Catra had been a blessing in relieving Scorpia of her executive duties. There was also a sense of companionship. Sure, it was awkward and dysfunctional most of the time, but then there were moments like these that assured the former Princess that she had finally made friends. Friends who would watch her back and she theirs. And at the center of it all was Catra.

**Report 20: Swindle  
**

Shadow Weaver leaned against the wall, fingering her Sorceror’s Guild badge in her hands, the weariness that had been haunting her for days dissipating and being replaced with measured excitement. Behind her mask, her lips curled into a smile. Her half-formed plan that prompted her to _request_ Catra to bring her badge was now coalescing into a strategy.

_You remind me of myself_.

"Ha," she snorted. As if she and Catra were ever alike. No, _she_ had been born gifted. Like Micah. Like Adora. It was why she was given the auspicious title 'Light Spinner' at such a young age and why she adopted the hefty name of 'Shadow Weaver' after she left Mystacor. Her genius and skill had been noticed and cultured since she was a child and training had given her immense powers. Powers she would finally regain after she escaped from this pathetic cell in the Fright Zone.

On the other hand, Catra had just been a stray; a feral intruder that Shadow Weaver tolerated because Adora was attached to her. Was it any surprise that after the discipline and structure of the Cadet Academy that Catra should become minimally competent? It had been Shadow Weaver’s own blindness and folly, not Catra’s grit or ingenuity that had shifted their roles and led to the current situation.

"But only temporarily," she muttered, looking to the wall where the number days of her imprisonment had been gouged into.

With a quick movement, she broke off a point off the Guild star and let the magic-infused crystal dust drop into her hand. It was enough, but barely. Although she hadn’t used this brand of magic in years now, her hands moved through the patterns as effortless as if she was back in Mystacor. She looked at the glowing rune mark on the floor and nodded, satisfied with her work.

She spared a thought for Catra as she teleported out of the Fright Zone.

"You’ve always been a useful little pawn and I still have many plans for you yet."

Meanwhile, Catra was walking back to find Scorpia with a bit more jump in her step than usual. She absentmindedly touched her left ear, in the same spot Shadow Weaver had.

_I kinda thought you hated her_.

What Scorpia said earlier still rang in Catra’s mind.

_You remind me of myself_.

Catra wrinkled her nose worriedly. Was that really why Shadow Weaver had suffered nothing but perfection from her wards? Catra looked down at her claws, flexed her arms and swished her tail excitedly.

"I’m strong," she realized. Maybe it _was_ due to Shadow Weaver’s loveless methods. Maybe now she had a chance of earning her respect and attention too. If only Shadow Weaver would reveal some crucial information about Etheria or the Runestones or the Princesses, then Entrapta would do some science-y thing using that knowledge, Catra would coordinate all of these efforts and then finally lead the Horde in overthrowing the Rebellion and establishing a single governing force for the planet. Even Lord Hordak would have to acknowledge Catra’s capabilities and she’d have a fun, cushy life doing whatever she wanted. And Adora-

She stopped in the middle of the hallway. She touched her ear again, remembering how Adora would often do the same, always amused by Catra’s fluffy ears and swishing tail. 

Adora was stubborn, so Catra would need to persuade her why it was so much saner, and safer, to join the Horde. It’d be a pain, and maybe Catra would need to threaten torturing Sparkly Thing 1 and Thing 2 before Adora would agree to even _listen_ to her, but it wasn’t impossible. If Shadow Weaver was capable of saying something comforting to Catra, then nothing was impossible. If Shadow Weaver thought Catra was worth something, then getting Adora, who had always treasured Catra, to come back to her wasn’t impossible.

Catra tapped her fingers impatiently against her thighs.

"Yeah, I can work with this," she thought to herself. She did an about face and headed back to the imprisonment section.

"I’ll brainstorm with Shadow Weaver and we’ll figure something out," she nodded to herself.


End file.
